Erdogan says Russia's proposal for Istanbul talks heightens hope for peace

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Russia's proposal to hold another round of peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2 had heightened Ankara's hopes for peace.

NATO member Turkey has maintained good relations with both sides since the start of the war. It hosted an initial round of peace talks in March 2022 - a month after Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour - and again on May 16, the first direct meeting between Moscow and Kyiv in three years.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held talks in Moscow on Monday and Tuesday, including with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He will also meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian officials in Kyiv on Friday.

Speaking to reporters on a flight from Azerbaijan, Erdogan said Ankara was in contact with both countries, and added that the recent momentum in peace efforts was an opportunity to reach lasting peace.

"The road to a resolution goes through more dialogue, more diplomacy. We are using all our diplomatic power and potential for peace," he was cited as saying by his office on Thursday.

Russia is under increasing pressure to agree a ceasefire, and while delegates from Moscow and Kyiv did not agree on one in Istanbul this month, they agreed to trade 1,000 prisoners of war and share their views on the contours of a truce.

Fidan, speaking to Turkish media representatives on a train ride from Poland to Kyiv, said that while the sides' demands for a ceasefire were different, they needed to converge their views to reach an agreement, adding other actors needed to help too.

"The Russians have goals regarding the war, of course. These are goals they set themselves. They have targets regarding land, regarding the annexation of certain areas. How acceptable these are for the international community, in terms of international law, that is all debatable," he said.

"I don't really evaluate that this will be tied to a legal process too much," he added, saying he could call U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio following his talks in Kyiv.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Huseyin Hayatsever. Editing by Mark Potter)